Nylon Blogs

NotCot points to a new initiative by Britain’s Royal Post:

They’ll release a set of stamps next year based on famous album covers.

Knighted Brits like The Rolling Stones and David Bowie will see their band art turned into postage, as will Led Zeppelin, Coldplay, Pink Floyd, The Clash, and Blur.

The stamps will be created by Studio Dempsey, who already have a sneak preview of them here.

But if America’s post offices planned the same kind of tribute, which U.S. bands would deserve to be featured?!  Let us know…

xo faran (who would root for a Bob Dylan / Blonde on Blonde stamp)

Back in the ’60s, you’d have had a difficult time getting Lou Reed, Grace Slick, and David Crosby in the same room together.

But they’re now all together on Wolfgang’s Vault.

Already one of the world’s largest online archives of live music recordings, the website is launching “Cracking The Vault Day” today.

That means 1,000 new concerts for your jamming pleasure.

They’ve got a pre-Summer of Love gig by the Jefferson Airplane, a post-British Invasion show by the Byrds, and even a few 21st century inclusions (like NYLON faves White Rabbits and Thee Oh Sees).

And unlike those bootleg tapes you used to trade in the ’90s, these recordings won’t get eaten up by your Walkman when you try to play them.

CNN has a very cool story today on the record label, Def Jam.

In graphics, quotes, and reporting text, they explore how the company began in a college dorm room and basically took over the world.

Highlights include the time Rick Rubin met DJ Jazzy Jeff in college, Russell Simmon’s lucrative licensing deal in the ’90s, and the addition of Fall Out Boy to the label in 2004.

2004?  Wow, that makes us feel old.

The one thing the pictogram could use?

Some information on all the talented women on Def Jam!

They never mention it, but we remember meeting Rihanna in 2005, after she first came to New York as a Def Jam protege.

And now we feel even older…

Last night, Soho House was unusually packed with bright young things.

There was the artist Blue Logan, the writer (and expert french fry cooker) Andrew Bevan, the front-row fixture Bee Shaffer, our own Shruti Ganguly, and a ton of shiny-haired high school girls who looked more like Blair Waldorf than anyone I ever knew in 10th grade.  Mick Rock stood in the corner.

We were there to see Florence Welch, the lead singer from Florence and the Machine, who played a 30 minute acoustic set while we sat gamely on the floor, clapping and singing, aided by beer and lots of cute British guys.

Naturally, I smuggled my camera up to the front.  Check out some performance pics below.

xo faran

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Number of bands:5

Number of band members with cool tights: 4

Number of mac’n'cheese orders: 3

Wait, is CMJ already over? Because we haven’t stopped going to shows…Here’s the rundown:

The Smith Westerns: Barely out of their diapers, and already playing killer rock. Catch them before Ryan McGinley does.

Dum Dum Girls: Dee Dee and her new backing band (including Frankie) live up to expectations - amazing outfits included. If only she smiled a little more onstage…

Lightspeed Champion: Alexa Chung approved. But we have dibs on the wizard outfit.

Small Black: Passion Pit, but with baseball caps.

Surfer Blood: Vampire Weekend, if they traded Cape Cod for Palm Beach (and jammed to Weezer way more).

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It’s time to party with this DJ, a part of the infamous MisShapes trio and a hallmark of downtown style circles thanks in part to his razor-sharp cheekbones to match his razor-cut hair.

Geordon was born in Canada and may or may not have appeared on Degrassi: The Next Generation.

Today, he lives in Manhattan, but frequently visits London, Paris, Miami, Los Angeles, and certain exclusive parts of the planet Neptune, which has been secretly turned into a nightclub by an anonymous blonde starlet and her conceptual artist boyfriend.

When not DJing, Geordon’s hobbies include being awesome.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GORGEOUS!!!